1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to illumination devices and, more particularly, pertains to a self-powered light adapted for positioning within the ball return compartment of a pool table.
2. Description of the Related Art
The origin of billiards remains obscure. Nevertheless, the available evidence suggests that its birth was in England several hundred years ago. Billiards migrated to the Americas with the Spanish who are known to have played the game in St. Augustine, Fl. in 1565. More recently, pool tables with six pockets have been developed, and the game of pool has become a favorite pastime of thousands throughout the United States.
Generally, pool is a game played by two or more persons, the object of the players being to pocket balls of ivory or other hard material by means of cues. Modern pool tables are rectangular in shape, their top surfaces enclosed by a resilient edge or cushion. Each of the table's four corners are provided with a pocket for the receipt of pool balls. A similar pocket is provided in the center of each of the opposing long edges or cushions of the table. For the sake of convenience, most pool tables are provided with a ball return system wherein pocketed balls are fed along fixed guide paths by gravity into a single compartment beneath the table surface for collection and subsequent reuse. As poor lighting conditions often make it difficult to examine the contents of the compartment without removal of the balls, a need exists for a pool table having a lighted ball return compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,163,412 issued to H. Jorstad on Dec. 7, 1915 provides a light for a pool table netted pocket which is activated by the presence of a ball inside the netted pocket. However, the balls do not travel along fixed guide paths by gravity into a single compartment. Moreover, the light of the Jorstad invention merely indicates the presence of balls in a respective pocket, and does not serve to illuminate the ball compartment for further ball identification.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,945 issued to Ellis on Jun. 17, 1975 provides a lighting fixture mounted beneath the pool table playing surface for purposes of lighting the playing surface without the use of overhead lamps. However, Ellis does not teach using the light to illuminate a single ball compartment; instead, Ellis advocates the elimination of tunnels or runways underneath the table leading from the pockets to a collecting box at one end of the table.